


Second Chances

by LacePendragon



Category: RWBY
Genre: During V4, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Mourning, past relationship, second love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LacePendragon/pseuds/LacePendragon
Summary: In a moment of weakness, Ren makes his feelings for Jaune known. Somehow, it doesn't go as badly as he expected.





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written October 22nd, 2016. Reposted October 31st, 2018. Happy Halloween.

Ren circled Jaune slowly, watching the shift in his stance and the alertness in his eyes. Once he was sure Jaune was ready, he launched himself at Jaune, striking hard and fast at the weaknesses in Jaune’s stance. First his left shoulder, then his stomach, then a quick strike to his chest, through the new armour, and Jaune hit the dirt.

Taking a deep breath, Ren straightened up and shook himself out. He raised an eyebrow at Jaune and held out one hand to help Jaune to his feet. Jaune flashed him an embarrassed smile before taking Ren’s hand.

“You’re getting better,” said Ren, pulling Jaune to his feet. He released Jaune’s hand and smiled at him. “Your stance is still too wide for hand-to-hand, however.”

Jaune frowned. “I thought my stance was _supposed_ to be wide.”

Ren brushed a stray piece of pink hair back from his face and tilted his head, his smile turning a touch amused. “For sword fighting, yes, and even for most traditional combat. But ninjas need to be light on their feet, adapting their stance as they go. Make sense?”

“I guess,” said Jaune, tugging his fingers through his hair. “It just… goes against what Pyrrha told me.”

Ren faltered, unsure of what to say. It was true, his and Pyrrha’s fighting styles had always been at odds with each other, and not in the complimentary way that his and Nora’s were. It had taken a lot of work to make Pyrrha’s style mesh with Ren’s, and vice versa, and Ren had always been grateful that Jaune had never truly adopted her style.

Now, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was erasing one of the last parts of Pyrrha and her prowess that remained with the team.

“Everyone fights differently, it is up to you to adopt your own style based on what works best for you,” said Ren, after a moment. He hoped it sounded wise, he was a little lost right now. “If you want to keep Pyrrha’s style, then we’ll work with it, just as we did when…” He paused, realizing what he’d been about to say. “It’s your choice,” Ren finished, lamely. He turned and walked away from Jaune, trying to get his own ridiculousness under control.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he walked underneath the shade of the nearby trees. He leaned against one and exhaled slowly, shaking himself. He needed to get a grip. Pyrrha wasn’t supposed to be such a taboo topic. They had spoken of her, they’d mourned her, but there was something distinctly… _intimate_ about speaking of her on the battlefield, theoretical or not.

Pyrrha had been the one to train Jaune. Pyrrha had been the one to help mould him into the incredible man he was today. To erase that, or to think he could pick up from where Pyrrha left off, despite the differences in their fighting styles, it wasn’t… it wasn’t _right._

“Ren?” Jaune’s voice was soft as he walked up to Ren, the hesitation evident in the line of his body and the furrow of his brow. “Hey, uh, are you okay?”

Ren nodded and cracked a tiny smile at Jaune, hoping it looked more serene than he felt. “Yes, I’m fine. Are you?”

That got a nod from Jaune. “You uh, want to have some lunch?” asked Jaune. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little pink around the edges.

Ren nodded and walked with Jaune over to a small pond by their camp. They’d been travelling on this path for days, headed for another village in the long string of them to Haven Academy. Somewhere in all this forest were Ruby and Nora, having fun with their own fighting skills, and probably using too much ammo for their own good.

But it made them happy, and in the end, that was what was most important in situations like these. Winter had been hard enough, now that Spring had fully sprung, Ren was glad that everyone was more cheerful.

He and Jaune pulled out their sandwiches and munched away at them, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder despite the wide expanse of the rock they rested on. Ren wondered about that, as he wondered about many things.

He wondered about the way Jaune lingered when they sparred, how their hands never pulled away quick enough. He wondered about the way Jaune looked at him sometimes, a soft smile on his face and something tender in his eyes. He wondered about the way Nora looked at them, and the way Ruby shook her head when Jaune asked Ren for advice instead of her.

Mostly, he wondered about his own feelings around the situation. The warmth in his chest that bloomed when he spoke to Jaune, the way he caught himself smiling whenever Jaune laughed, and the way he always let his gaze linger on Jaune, even when he didn’t have to.

Something was there, building up between the two quietly, almost unnoticed, and Ren was more than a little worried about what it would mean if he and Jaune let that almost silent ‘what if’ build up into a proper conversation.

He wasn’t Pyrrha. He didn’t want to be Pyrrha. He knew how much Pyrrha had meant – and still meant – to Jaune. It wouldn’t be right to say anything about his feelings, about this thing.

“You okay, Ren?” asked Jaune, after a time. Ren looked to Jaune to find he’d finished his sandwich and was now watching him with more than a touch of concern. The furrowed brow and soft eyes made Ren’s stomach flip-flop, and he forced himself to swallow to regain his bearings and his voice.

“Fine, Jaune,” said Ren. He picked at his sandwich, frowning slightly at it, and watched Jaune out of the corner of his eye.

“You haven’t really eaten,” said Jaune. “You know we have to keep up our strength, we’ve got a long way to go before we’ll reach Mistral.”

Ren nodded, but he didn’t make an effort to pick up his sandwich and keep eating. He found he wasn’t really hungry, with all this thinking. Nora had always claimed he could think away his appetite if he tried. In truth, it was anxiety that did it. Ren’s stomach had always been subject to his moods, and there was little he could do once his stomach started churning alongside his mind.

“Hey, are you sure you’re all right?” asked Jaune. He reached forward and rested a hand on Ren’s upper arm, his concerned gaze completely dominating Ren’s field of vison. Ren swallowed and tried not to shift forward, into Jaune, or backward, away from him. Either could be taken badly, and Ren didn’t want to scare Jaune off. “You look scared.”

Ren took a breath, unable to stop the slight shudder of it. “I’m fine.” But his voice cracked as he spoke and Jaune’s brow furrowed. He took Ren’s face in one hand and leaned forward, brow furrowed and lips pursed as he studied Ren with narrowed eyes.

“Hrm,” said Jaune, tilting his own head back and forth as he studied Ren’s. “You don’t look sick. Are you just... nervous?” Ren bit the inside of his cheek to keep from giving himself away. This close, it was impossible to deny the warmth that flooded him whenever Jaune was near, impossible to deny the way he wanted to lean forward and close the distance between himself and Jaune.

But he was not Pyrrha.

But, based on the soft, affectionate way Jaune was looking at him, maybe he didn’t have to be. Maybe…

Ren sucked in a soft, shaky breath. He bit his lower lip, his gaze darting to Jaune’s, and released it, trying to control himself. Jaune was so close, his thoughts so betraying, and all Ren wanted to do was lean forward and…

Jaune started the motion. Got halfway there before he hesitated, something in his half-closed blue eyes that had Ren’s heart pounding in his chest.

Jaune jerked back abruptly, releasing Ren’s face and getting to his feet, stepping away from Ren. Ren tried not to slump and failed, his disappointment naked on his face and in his posture. He’d been so close, and yet, so far.

“I can’t do this,” said Jaune, tightly. He gesticulated with his hands, holding them close in front of him as they moved. “It’s… it’s…” He shook his head and looked back at Ren, tears in his eyes and lip trembling. “It’s _betrayal_ , Ren,” he said, voice cracking. Ren looked away, unable to hold Jaune’s gaze as hot guilt and shape crept across his body. “I can’t do that to Pyrrha.” Jaune’s words were barely above a whisper and edged with tears.

“I’m sorry,” said Ren. He folded his hands in his lap and squeezed them together, looking away from Jaune and toward the pond. His reflection, distorted as it was, stared back at him. Judging. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Jaune gave a frustrated groan and put his head in his hands. “It’s not… you didn’t… I just…” He lifted his head from his hands and Ren chanced looking at him head on, only to see tears slipping down Jaune’s face. “I love her.”

“I know,” whispered Ren. He blinked back tears of his own, swallowing hard. “I’m so sorry, Jaune.”

Jaune shook his head and walked back toward Ren, dropping onto the rock with a soft noise. He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands, shoulders shaking from the force of his tears. Ren reached out, hesitated, and then rested his hand between Jaune’s shoulder blades, rubbing circles there. He pressed his lips together, brows knitted over his nose as he tried to figure out what to say.

“I should be mourning more,” whispered Jaune after a few minutes. He let his arms fall from his face, dangling between his knees instead. His head stayed bowed forward, his entire body slumped. “It hasn’t even been a year since she died, but here I am, enjoying myself, living my life, and…” His head tilted sideways to look at Ren, the guilt naked in his eyes despite the tears. “Learning to feel all over again.”

Ren’s hand paused on Jaune’s back and he swallowed hard, unsure of what to say to that. He didn’t want to press things. His feelings for Jaune had developed slowly, inching their way into his life sometime just before the Vytal Festival. Nora had figured it out before he did, as she tended to, and she’d waited for Ren to finally bring it up with her before she’d talked him through it all.

He was grateful, to say the least, that it had never crossed her mind to tease him for this.

“Sorry,” mumbled Jaune, when Ren didn’t respond. “I, uh…” He looked away from Ren, biting his lower lip and staring at the ground. “I thought you… felt the same.”

“I do,” said Ren, the words tumbling out of his mouth far too quickly. “I…” Jaune looked back at Ren and his words got caught in his throat. Barely above a whisper, he said, “I do.”

Jaune swallowed visibly, his throat bobbing as his gaze stayed locked with Ren’s. The two stared at each other, neither one sure what to say or what to do. Ren wanted to lean forward, to close the distance between them and prove that he and Jaune were on the same page, that he was serious about what he was saying. But there was still so much to say, so much to do, before that was a possibility.

Jaune may have been laying it all out for Ren, but that didn’t mean he wanted Ren to pick it all up.

“What now?” asked Ren, softly.

Jaune swallowed hard and looked away from Ren, his hands tightening into fists for but a moment. “I don’t know,” he confessed. He shook his head, staring out at the forest with sad eyes and a tight expression. “I just don’t know.”

The two sat there for a few long minutes, neither one saying anything. Ren could feel the tension in Jaune through his hand on Jaune’s back, and also how Jaune was slowly growing tenser. Ren wasn’t sure what to do. He could talk to Jaune, explain how he felt, but he wasn’t sure how that would make things better.

Or…

And just like that, an idea struck Ren.

“Spar with me,” said Ren, getting to his feet. Jaune tilted his head toward Ren, brow furrowed and lips pursed.

“Huh?” asked Jaune.

“Spar with me,” repeated Ren. He stood in front of Jaune, putting his hands on his hips so he looked more confident than he felt. “Pyrrha taught you how to spar, didn’t she?” he asked. Her name was strange on his lips, as though it didn’t quite belong there. “Spar with me, show me what she showed _you_. Let’s honour her on the battlefield, just like she used to honour us.”

Jaune smiled, his confusion melting away to contentment and understanding. He got to his feet and nodded to Ren, stretching high above his head.

“All right,” he said, “but I’ll warn you, when I’m not trying to be a ninja, I’m actually pretty good.”

Ren smiled back at Jaune, contentment blooming in his chest. “I know,” he said. He nodded to Jaune, who looked a tad surprised to hear the words from Ren’s lips, and gestured for the two of them to move away from the rocks.

Once they were out in the open space of the clearing again, Ren fell into a defensive position, raising an eyebrow to Jaune to ask if he was ready. Electricity cut through the tension in the air, sending little thrills down Ren’s spine as he stared at Jaune falling into position.

“To three?” asked Jaune, and if there was a little tightness in his voice, a tightness not from trepidation but from anticipation, then Ren knew his own voice was the same.

“To three,” he agreed. Just like that, the two started. They circled one another, judging each other’s weaknesses and strengths. Ren could see the Pyrrha in Jaune properly now. The low, wide stance when he paused, the shift in an effort to keep his centre of gravity centred instead of shifting from side to side, like Ren’s.

It was strange, to see a ghost standing before him as much as a living, breathing man. But Ren could make it work. He’d sparred with Pyrrha just as much as he’d sparred with Jaune, if not more.

Ren struck forward, fast and deliberate, at the opening near Jaune’s left shoulder. Jaune took the blow and shifted into Ren’s personal space. Tagged Ren in the ribs and knocked the air out of him. Ren shuffled backward. Moved left, then right, found another opening, struck his foot into Jaune’s leg. Jaune stumbled, growled, locked eyes with Ren.

Another thrill went down Ren’s spine.

Jaune launched himself at Ren, tackling him around the middle and sending him to the ground. Ren hit the ground on his back, Jaune straddling his hips and pinning his hands above his head. Jaune was flushed and panting from the exertion of the fight, Ren was in a similar position for an entirely different reason.

He swallowed hard and tried to bite back the desire in his veins. He should have realized this would happen, even this early into a fight. He was only eighteen, after all, and Jaune was _unfairly_ attractive.

“Ren?” whispered Jaune, his eyes widening and shock naked on his face. “Are you…?” he trailed off.

Ren took the opportunity to get his hands free and flipped them, landing on his hands and knees above Jaune as Jaune hit the grass on his back. He didn’t straddle Jaune the way Jaune had him, it would be a tad too embarrassing in their current situation.

“One, one,” whispered Ren, well aware of his hoarse his voice had gone.

He went to get up, but Jaune caught his wrist and held him in place, staring up at him with wide eyes and trembling lips.

“Ren,” said Jaune, his voice so hoarse and low that it was barely there. It was a single word, but Ren knew instantly what it meant. The hope, the promise, the _want_ in Jaune’s voice sent Ren’s veins on fire and his mind screaming with possibility. But the fear remained, even as Jaune tugged at Ren’s wrist and brought his other hand up to rest on the back of Ren’s neck, tangled in his hair. “Please.”

That was what it took – that singular whispered word, so full of longing and want that Ren couldn’t find it in him to resist. Not that he wanted to try.

He leaned down and closed the gap between Jaune and himself, hesitating for only a second before he pressed his lips to Jaune’s in a soft kiss.

They held it for barely two seconds before pulling back, and Ren’s eyes fluttered open to see Jaune grinning up at him, his cheeks red and his eyes warm.

Ren sucked in a sharp breath, then leaned down and kissed Jaune again, this time lowering himself onto his elbows so he could tangle one hand in Jaune’s wonderful hair. Jaune gave a soft noise, not quite a groan, before tangling both his hands in Ren’s long, loose hair.

They stayed like that, trading kisses that shifted in intensity – from soft to passionate, from curious to hungry – for a time, and it was only when Ren’s arousal over the situation became impossible to ignore that they finally pulled back. With flushed cheeks, Ren shifted off of Jaune and sat down in the grass next to him, drawing up his knees to drape his arms across them. Jaune sat up and grinned shyly at Ren, flushed and panting just like he was.

“Well,” said Ren, rubbing under his nose. “I uh, think we solved that problem.”

Jaune laughed, sounding as sheepish as Ren felt, and rubbed the back of his neck. His heated flush changed to something a tad more embarrassed and he looked away from Ren.

“Guess so,” mumbled Jaune.

Ren swallowed hard when Jaune didn’t say anything else and said, “This doesn’t have to mean anything. I know you loved – _love_ – Pyrrha, Jaune.” He looked at Jaune, unable to shake the feeling that this was all about to slip away from him. “I would never try to replace her in any way.”

Jaune turned his head to Ren, resting his cheek on his arms, which were folded across his raised knees. “You aren’t. You’re right, I do love her, and I think I always will, but…” Jaune sighed and lifted his head. “I can’t live in the past forever, Ren, and I want this.” He shifted toward Ren. “I want… _you_.”

Ren felt his cheeks grow hot again and he bit his lip. “You’re sure?” he whispered.

Jaune nodded. “Positive.” His words were just as hushed as Ren’s, his eyes darting toward Ren’s lips again. “We kind of just made out for like, ten minutes, it’s hard to ignore that.”

Ren laughed, the sound sudden but still quiet. “True,” he said, grinning at Jaune. “True.” He reached out toward Jaune, who met him halfway and laced their fingers together.

“To moving forward,” said Jaune, “and to not forgetting our pasts.”

Ren smiled and leaned forward, capturing Jaune’s lips in one last, fleeting kiss, before he stood and tugged him back toward their supplies to clean up. All the while, he kept their fingers laced.

Pyrrha would always be with them, but that didn’t mean he and Jaune couldn’t find happiness in each other. It was all about moving forward, remembering your past, and learning to live, to be happy, despite everything.

And Ren was glad he got to experience all that with Jaune.


End file.
